‘Not having Sarfaraz Khan in Team India is an insult to domestic cricket’
Ranji Trophy: Days after being ignored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the Test team for the Australia series, Sarfaraz Khan has scored a brilliant century for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy game against Delhi. After Sarfaraz’s century, former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad criticized the selectors for not including Sarfaraz Khan in Team India.
Highlights
- Sarfaraz Khan played an inning of 125 runs against Delhi.
- Sarfaraz Khan has scored 3 centuries in this season of Ranji
New Delhi. Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has come to the rescue of Sarfaraz Khan’s weight. He has said that if he was fit enough to score several hundred in domestic cricket, it was not a matter of fitness, but of not taking the stage of first-class cricket seriously. Days after being dropped from the Indian team, the Mumbai batsman scored a brilliant century against Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy on Tuesday, 17 January. Since 2020, Sarfaraz has scored 12 centuries, including one triple and two double centuries. However, for his bravery, he has not been able to get opportunities at the senior level.
Venkatesh Prasad has called the 25-year-old cricketer’s exclusion from the Test squad against Australia an ‘insult to domestic cricket’. Quoting a tweet from the Twitter handle of BCCI Domestic Cricket, the veteran bowler expressed his disappointment that Sarfaraz Khan should not be ignored in terms of his fitness, adding that there are ‘many who are overweight.”
Venkatesh Prasad wrote, “Not only is Sarfaraz Khan not being in the Test team despite 3 blockbuster domestic seasons, but it is also a disservice to domestic cricket, no matter the platform. And he is fit to score runs. As far as body weight is concerned, there are many who are overweight.
Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed after scoring 125 runs in 155 balls in the first day’s game against Delhi. His brilliant innings included 16 fours and 4 big sixes. He helped Mumbai score a total of 293 runs on the scoreboard till stumps on the first day. Talking to the media after his innings, the youngster reacted to not being selected for Team India and said that his father has been motivating him.
Sarfaraz Khan said, “My father was here. I practiced with him for the last two days in Ghaziabad. He knew that I was sad, so he came from Mumbai to meet me. He told me that we just need to score runs, be it for India or Ranji Trophy. If we keep playing, the runs will keep coming. He keeps motivating me and boosts my morale whenever I am sad or disappointed. He helps me prepare mentally for every situation.”
